Come tax season, many Aussies all across the country are constantly trying to track their tax refund. Since many individuals and families rely on that money, which can sometimes be quite a bit, it is understandable that people want their exact refund amount shortly after tax filing. So how can everything be tracked?

The best way to check your refund status is to do so online through myGov. Everything is now setup there, making the process much easier than before. Most people by now already have a myGov account after sending income tax returns, but creating an account is very easy as well. All that is needed is a tax file number.

Once logged in, people will notice that there are a number of stages that instantly pop up after 2018 taxes are filed. While tax refunds don’t go through every single stage necessarily, it is a good way to quickly get the gist of where it is.

– In Progress (Processing)

This simply means that the income tax return has been received, and the processing stage has started.

In Progress (Information Pending)

The process has reached a point where more information is necessary to move forward. There are times in which that information is something they need to look into, but other times a person might need to call the IRS, or they will make the call to get answers.

In Progress (Under Review)

This is when the Australian Taxation Office is examining the tax return.

Cancelled

Despite seeing the word cancelled, the review process is still going on. You should not file your tax return again when seeing this. Be patient during this period, and wait for the next update.

In Progress (Balancing Account)

This is the step in the process where people know that money is coming their way. The ATO is calculating just how much is owed.

In Progress (Processing)

Like the previous status at the beginning of the process, information is being gathered. This time, it is in preparation to send over a refund.

Issued (Total Amount)

When a person sees this, the refund amount is on its way. The next step is simply asking, where is my refund?

Getting The Money

The ATO encourages people to do all returns electronically these days, as it speeds up the entire process. In fact, it takes just about two weeks to process electronically, while it still takes about 10 weeks when sent in manually.

After the processing part is over, a notice will be sent regarding whether or not money is owed. Everything is sent to a regular email address, as well as to myGov inboxes. A person can even sign up for text alerts if they wish.